Survey Highlights Need to Increase Support for Math and Science Teachers

The survey, endorsed by numerous professional educator and scientific societies, polled thousands of K-12 teachers from around the nation. Education Week pulled a number of interesting statistics from the report, noting that only one-third of middle school math teachers have a degree in either math or math education. Additionally, a majority of elementary teachers do not feel "very well prepared" to teach science and only 20 percent of them teach science every day. This is especially concerning given the move to the common-core standards. Many of the skills pushed by the new standards are those that teachers report feeling most uncomfortable with, such as having students explain reasoning and support a conclusion.